These designations are designed to rate each player's Fantasy value
for the current week only and have no bearing on his value for
the season as a whole.

Any player dealing with injury will have the injury listed in
parentheses after his name. His condition will most definitely
influence his category designation for the week.

Any players not appearing on these lists are presumed to be below
"don't bother" status and are obvious sits in Fantasy.

The information has been updated through Saturday, June 23.

Catcher

The Athletics promoted
Derek Norris
from Triple-A Sacramento Thursday in a move that was probably long
overdue, given
Kurt Suzuki
's numbers.
Norris won't claim the job outright -- at least not yet -- but he will
split at-bats with Suzuki, which is all the playing time he needs to
factor in two-catcher leagues. Though he has shown good power and
patience in the past, his .804 OPS at Sacramento was a little
underwhelming. Still, he's potentially the best catcher owned in less
than 25 percent of leagues right now.

The former owner of that title,
Salvador Perez
,
was activated from the disabled list Friday and homered in his first
game back. He had been out all season with a knee injury. He'll help
your team in batting average, if nothing else, so you'll want to look
into him as a potential top-15 catcher if you need help at that position.

Worth a second look:
Jarrod Saltalamacchia
,
Red SoxAfter an impressive end to May, Saltalamacchia had been
mostly useless to Fantasy owners in June before going 7 for 19 with two
homers over his last six games. Perhaps he's beginning to heat up again.
His matchups this week against pitchers like
Henderson Alvarez
,
Aaron Laffey
,
Hector Noesi
,
Erasmo Ramirez
and
Jason Vargas
certainly help his case. Considering how much power
potential he brings to the catcher position, he's an ideal stopgap in
mixed leagues.Approach with caution:
J.P. Arencibia
, Blue JaysArencibia offers plenty of power
potential himself, but his low points are perhaps even deeper and darker
than Saltalamacchia's. He's certainly feeling the chill now, batting
.167 (14 for 84) with 34 strikeouts over his last 23 games, and his
matchups against
Felix Doubront
,
Jon Lester
,
Dan Haren
,
Ervin Santana
and
C.J. Wilson
this
week don't figure to bring him out of it. In one-catcher leagues, you
can do better.

David Ortiz
is the newest addition to first base in Fantasy.
With the help of interleague play, he exceeded the five games necessary
to gain eligibility at the position in standard leagues. He was already
a no-doubter in Fantasy even when confined to the DH spot. Now, he ranks
up there with
Prince Fielder
,
Paul Konerko
and company.

With
Aubrey Huff
on the DL and
Brett Pill
in the minors,
Brandon Belt
has started 11 straight games at first base for the Giants and has
responded with a .375 (15 for 40) batting average and four home runs. A
little playing time can make a world of difference, and now that manager
Bruce Bochy has seen the best of what Belt has to offer, he says he'll
stick with him for a while. You might want to give the perpetual tease
another week or two to prove himself before activating him, but now
might be your only shot to get him off the waiver wire.

Worth a second look:
Brandon Moss
,
AthleticsAt age 28 and with his fourth big-league organization,
Moss is at best a late-bloomer and at worse a Quadruple-A player.
Certainly, his recent trip to Coors Field, which resulted in four homers
in three games, made him look like the former, but since then, he has
two homers in eight games, suggesting it's not a complete fluke. If
nothing else, he'll be in another hitter's park for four games this
week, visiting the Rangers after playing three games in Seattle, so
another two or three homers wouldn't be so surprising. He's a relative
shot in the dark, of course, but if you have a corner infield spot to
fill, you could do a lot worse.Approach with caution:
Justin Morneau
, TwinsAs good as Morneau is against righties
and on the road, he's beyond bad against lefties (.090 with a .321 OPS)
and at home (.202 with a .616 OPS). Lately, he hasn't been getting it
done regardless of the circumstances, batting .213 (16 for 75) over his
last 19 games, so you can't expect him to get it done under the worst of
the worst. The Twins' matchups don't look all that bad, but with seven
road games and three lefties on tap, Morneau is an obvious sit wherever
possible.

Dustin Pedroia
, who has been playing for the last two weeks or
so with a torn muscle in his thumb, aggravated the injury on Tuesday
and, in the words of manager Bobby Valentine, was "fearful that he was
injured." He missed only one game before returning to the lineup,
though, so he's determined to play through it. But considering he's
batting only .170 (9 for 53) over that two-week period, he's not as
automatic as he'd normally be in Fantasy.

Chase Utley
, who has been out all season because of a chronic
knee issue, is set to return to the lineup Wednesday. He has struggled
during his rehab assignment at Class A Clearwater, batting .156 (5 for
32), and showed clear signs of decline last year. You should probably
give him a week to prove his health before activating him in mixed
leagues.

Worth a second look:
Danny Espinosa
,
NationalsNo, Espinosa will never help much in batting average,
and yes, he strikes out an awful lot, but those who wrote him off during
his miserable April probably don't realize he's batting .257 (35 for
136) with five home runs and 10 steals over his last 38 games. The power
stroke is back, and it should be on full display during a four-game
series at Coors Field to begin the week. The four lefties on tap --
against whom Espinosa is hitting .339 with a 1.028 OPS -- are simply a
bonus.Approach with caution:
Kelly Johnson
,
Blue JaysThe king of the streaks is back. What separates Johnson
from players like
Mark Reynolds
and
Jay Bruce
is that his hot streaks are just as frequent as his cold
streaks, but that doesn't make the cold streaks any less debilitating.
He certainly seems to be on a cold streak now, batting .232 (19 for 82)
with only one extra-base hit and 32 strikeouts compared to six walks
over his last 21 games. His matchups against the top of the Red Sox and
Angels rotations should be all the incentive you need to sit him in
mixed leagues.

The Red Sox traded
Kevin Youkilis
to the
White Sox on Sunday, ensuring that both he and understudy
Will Middlebrooks
will get full-time at-bats going forward. The deal
is good news for Fantasy owners all around. Though it's no guarantee
Youkilis will regain his All-Star form, he'll have a better chance of
doing so without the constant interruptions. Middlebrooks, of course, is
now top-12 material.

The return of
Scott Rolen
from a shoulder
injury Monday was thought to be bad news for
Todd Frazier
, who filled in at third base in Rolen's absence. But
with the Reds' increased willingness to use the rookie in the outfield,
Frazier has started four of five even with Rolen back in the lineup.
Granted, most of those starts came with the DH spot available for
interleague play, but it's not like veteran
Ryan Ludwick
, who had been starting in left field, is any sort of
mainstay. Frazier's power display during Rolen's absence may have just
earned him a full-time job, which would of course be good news for
anyone scrounging the waiver wire for a third baseman.

Best Five Hitting Schedules

Team

Schedule

1.

Padres

@HOU4, @COL3

2.

Nationals

@COL4, @ATL3

3.

Astros

SD4, @CHC3

4.

Royals

TB3, @MIN4

5.

Red Sox

TOR3, @SEA4

Worth a second look:
Chase Headley
,
PadresHaven't seen Headley here in a while? That's because the
Padres haven't had matchups this good in a while. They're at Houston for
four games and at Colorado for three this week, which means they'll be
facing two of the league's worst pitching staffs in two the of the
league's most hitter-friendly environments. Frankly, any week out of
PETCO Park is cause for celebration for Headley. His OPS there is about
100 points lower than on the road. If you've been wondering when to get
him active again, now is the time.Approach with caution:
Kyle Seager
, MarinersSeager is one of many Mariners who
struggle in the cavernous expanse of Safeco Field, batting .180 with a
.591 OPS there compared to .311 and .900 everywhere else. And like many
young left-handed hitters, he's not so hot against lefties either,
batting .239 with a .670 OPS. Naturally, you'll want an alternative for
a week in which the Mariners face four lefties in seven home games.

Stephen Drew
, who has been rehabbing from offseason knee
surgery at Triple-A Reno, is set to return to the lineup Wednesday,
according to manager Kirk Gibson. Gibson plans to ease him in though,
playing him every third day until he gets his feet under him. Obviously,
Drew has the potential to perform like a top-10 shortstop when he's back
playing every day, but he's still a ways from contributing in mixed
leagues.

Worth a second look:
Trevor Plouffe
,
TwinsMight as well ride this thing out as long as you can,
right? Plouffe has cooled off only slightly from his month-long power
surge, going homerless in his last seven games but batting a respectable
.280 (7 for 25) during that stretch. As hot as he was, you'll want to
stick with him for now just in case he has a little bit more in store.
He's been especially good against left-handers, compiling an 1.084 OPS
compared to .778 against righties, so those same matchups that work
against
Justin Morneau
actually work in
Plouffe's favor. And considering two of the three lefties on tap are
members of the Royals makeshift rotation, they're some favorable
matchups indeed.Approach with caution:
Zack Cozart
, RedsCozart has been pretty hot himself lately,
batting .316 (25 for 79) with two homers over his last 17 games, but you
can't expect a free-swinging rookie to sustain that pace for long.
Granted, you could certainly do worse than Cozart in mixed leagues, but
given the likelihood that
Yovani Gallardo
,
Zack Greinke
,
Madison Bumgarner
,
Matt Cain
and
Ryan Vogelsong
slow him down this week, you could also do much
better.

Ryan Kalish
, who missed most of last season and the start of
this season because of shoulder surgery, appears to have locked up a
starting job in the Red Sox outfield even with
Cody Ross
back from a fractured foot, which is especially good news
for the Fantasy owners who remember just how promising he was as a
rookie in 2010, hitting four homers and stealing 10 bases in 163
at-bats. The power-speed threat is worth adding in AL-only leagues and
monitoring in leagues deeper than that.

Not only has preseason sleeper
John Mayberry
picked it up at the plate lately, but he also has started eight of the
Phillies' last nine games. Granted, five were against lefties, but the
Phillies' willingness to move him to first base for two of the four
against righties, bumping
Ty Wigginton
to the bench, at least offers some hope that he'll be able to make a
contribution in mixed leagues after all. For now, you're better off
monitoring him from a distance.

Worth a second look:
Desmond Jennings
,
Rays and
Dexter Fowler
, RockiesOK,
Jennings has been off the DL for two weeks now, which is more than
enough to time for him to shake off the rust. He needs to get back to
producing. Perhaps he already would have if not for the pitchers he's
had to face since returning from the DL -- the Yankees, Marlins, Mets,
Nationals and Phillies pitching staffs are no walk in the park, after
all -- but he has no excuses this week with seven games against the
Royals and Tigers. You can trust in a high-end player like him to turn
it around. Fowler has also been a victim of circumstances lately. Of the
Rockies' last 18 games, 12 have been on the road. Not only are they back
at home this week, where Fowler is a .324 hitter with a 1.067 OPS, but
they're facing six righties, against whom he's hitting .299 with a .982
OPS. Expect a resurgence.Approach with caution:
Ichiro Suzuki
, Mariners and
Bryan LaHair
,
CubsSaying LaHair will do nothing for your Fantasy team this
week would be giving him too much credit. He has three hits against
left-handers this season and has sat out 11 straight games against them.
With the Cubs scheduled to face four in six games this week, he's a lost
cause in mixed leagues. The Mariners also face four lefties this week,
which, believe it or not, could pose a problem for Ichiro. As is often
the case for hitters late in their careers, he has begun to struggle
against same-handed pitchers, batting .248 with a .537 OPS. Of course,
his numbers are down against righties as well, so perhaps his .246 (28
for 114) batting average over his last 26 games is reason enough to look
into other options. Even when he turns it around, it's not like he's
going to go off with a four-homer or anything, so you don't risk losing
all that much by sitting him.

Raised in Atlanta by a board game-loving family during the dawn of the '90s Braves dynasty, Scott White was easy prey for the Fantasy Sports, in particular Fantasy Baseball, and has devoted his adulthood...
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